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6/29/2011 5:23PM

News Hub: Panel Deals Blow to Breast-Cancer Drug

A special advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration voted 6-0 Wednesday that approval of the drug Avastin as a breast-cancer treatment should be revoked, handing a defeat to Avastin maker Roche. Peter Landers has details from Washington.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

Gou ... I ... help is today the FDA were woke me up rule of thumb that then ... for use in treating breast cancer wonder Peter Landers in Washington for the update on this ... year I know this is a very a controversial issue especially among ... women who have breast cancer and as they say that that this drug has helped him enormously said telephone about how this vote came about ... and what they said about Avastin in treating breast cancer ... there was that an appeals panel with the FDA did go to basics is six nothing unanimously that ... approval for Bason as a breast cancer treatment should be revoked as a final decision is still up to the FDA Commissioner ... so we had a little bit more to go the process but what was really no worthy was how far the maker of the best the profits of this is the road ... is this company and its DemandTec unit ... they could have accepted the FDA is a decision by the drug division last year that's ... that the approval should be revoked but they've counted every step of the way and they may continue to John right now lumpiness up a six billion dollar drug what its next have some appeal it seems that they're running on a broken right ... that's right about of the six billion about one billion seems to come from a treatment for breast cancer it continues to be approved for other cancers of the drug will stay in the market regardless of what happens ... to Mantech if it does it loses the area commissioner on this one it could bring it to federal court they can say that the FDA ... failed to follow its own procedures that have the procedure ... was biased Genentech naysaying and ... should be overturned ... and yet what what it was it was a product that is so many people using Avastin to treat breast cancer ... why am I are they now revoking listening obviously need to be found in studies that show that in fact the drug does not work in treating breast cancer ... the straight to the original ... approval was conditional on additional studies ... and to additional studies Burdine the FDA says they basically show the drug ... barely extends the ... period in which the cancer growth is the way that ... it does not extend the life expectancy and they also say the FDA that there is serious side effects which is a ... hemorrhaging of the lot ... so yes it feels the benefit is zero or minimal down the risks are our significant other companies says ... you might get as much as five months or more ... of life without it to pronounce report says happy for quality of life sum total ... different stories you're from the company in the FTA and it was there any surprise about the nature of six zero posts ... um this is is that how the FDA said the rule of thumb for how they operate or ... is it significant ... this is a vote by outside ... advisers to the FDA ... who were ... working from information supplied by the FDA staff so ... but many of these advisors that were on a panel last year that also voted down by fall to one margin ... against Avastin for breast cancer so ... most likely surprise but is a strong statement that the Indiana Ms unanimous no ... chance the next decade is likely yet with that the from here ... I think Genentech will certainly ask the Commissioners to overturn of the panel's decision and how well the charts than the market a lease for a while as a breast cancer treatment ... that can now look at their legal action ... the FDA sense of these candles so he can basically clean Culver Wendy reverses things that are ... not politically ... viable ... no ... I can't